Shaping and sharpening tool



Oct. 29, 1963 J. MATUSZEK 3,108,410

SHAPING AND SHARPENING TOOL Filed Aug. 25. 1961 INVHVTOR. JO'aEPH Mxruszax 6 am, ay

ATTYe. v

United States Patent sasaem SHAPHNG AND SHARPENING TOOL .Icseph Matuszer, 639 S. Humphrey Ave, Oak Park, Ill. Filed Aug. 23, 1961, Ser. No. 133,419 1 (Ilaim. (Cl. 51-204) This invention relates to a blade shaping and sharpen ing tool, and it relates more particularly to a compact tool ideally suited for the preparation of ice skate blades and similar blades in a simple, highly efficient and professional manner.

It is well lmown that the proper sharpening of various blades can be a critical operation. This is particularly true in the case of ice skate blades, since the condition of the blades can add or detract from the enjoyment of skating and can also determine, to a large extent, the speed which can be attained during skating. The passage of the hardened steel blades over ice tends to dull the blades and resharpening is frequency necessary. Furthermore, nicks and flat spots occur in the blades when they are handled or Worn off the ice, and these add to the need for sharpening of the blades.

There has not been available to the prior art a device which is compact and thus capable of being carried about, and which also provides for eflicient shaping and sharpening of blades. Prior devices likewise have been deficient in that there has been no provision made for compensating the effects of Wear on the honing piece therein. As a result of this shortcoming, such instruments have not been capable of giving consistent performance. Similarly, prior devices have not provided for changes in ebr-ading pressure .as the honing piece wears during use.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a compact shaping and sharpening tool which is ideally suited for the preparation of blades, particularly of ice skate blades.

It is an additional object of this invention to provide a tool of the type described which is characterized by the ability to produce consistent, accurately shaped, sharpened blades.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a tool of the type described which overcomes the deficiencies of prior art instruments in that it provides for wear of the honing piece during use without sacrificing consistency; in that it provides for changes in abrading pressure as the honing piece wears during use; and in that it provides a tool design which prevents damage to the tool through contact with sharpened blade edges.

These and other objects of this invention will appear hereinafter and, for purposes of illustration, but not of limitation, specific embodiments of this invention are shown in the accompanying drawings in which FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the shaping and sharpening tool of this invention as it appears in contact with. a blade to be sharpened;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the tool of FIG- URE 1 illustrating the honing piece and main body portion thereof in unassembled relation;

FIGURE 3 is a vertical section of the assembled tool of this invention;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional View of the tool taken about the line 44 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view taken about the line 5-5 of FIGURE 3; and

FIGURE 6 is a bottom view taken about the line 66 of FIGURE 3.

A blade sharpening and shaping tool which accomplishes the above noted objects generally comprises a main body portion having a blade slot which extends along the bottom side thereof and a passage for receiving a honing piece extending upwardly to the upper sur- 3,11%,410 Patented Get. 29, 1963 face of the tool from the slot. One important feature of this invention resides in the provision of a tool design which functions to prevent the honing piece from removing the sharp edges of a blade. This feature is particularly valuable where a skate blade is to be hollow ground, that is, where the blade is to be provided with a concave configuration such )as is suggested in FIGURE 5. In order to provide this design the blade slot and honing piece passage are formed in such a manner that the parallel walls of the slot and passage respectively are disposed at an acute angle with respect to each other. Thus, as illustrated in FIGURE 6, the blade and honing piece contact one another in an acute angular relationship during the sharpening of a blade. When the blade and honing piece contact in this manner, the honing piece on wearing down will not hone away the edges of the blade, a condition which is prevalent in prior art designs.

A further feature relates to the provision of means for insuring consistent pressure application of the honing piece while the instrument is traversing the blade. Thus, the honing piece passage which opens into the blade slot and extends to the top surface of the tool body has retained therein an elongated honing piece extending above the top surface, whereby manual pressure can be exerted on the exposed end of the honing piece while the other end is in contact with the blade. The pressure thus applied provides for consistency in the prepanation of the blade even as the honing piece begins to wear, since the application of pressure will not be materially affected by reduction in the size of the honing piece resulting from wear.

A further feature of the instant tool relates to the provision of means for avoiding damage to the tool body which could occur if the body contacted the sharp edges of a blade. Thus, a bearing member is provided to extend downwardly from the base of the blade slot on either side of the honing piece passage. Open spaces, or channels, are provided on either side of the bearing member between this member and the Walls of the slot, and therefore a blade riding in the slot will contact only the centrally positioned bearing member while the sharp edges of the blade will ride freely in the slot. The use of this hearing means is particularly valuable where the blade is to be hollow ground, and the sham, upturned edges thereof would tend to cut into the base portion of the blade slot.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown therein a shaping and sharpening tool 10 which is particularly designed for the preparation of an ice skating blade 12. It will be appreciated, however, that other blades requiring similar shaping and sharpening can be prepared with the tool of this invention.

The tool 19 is provided with a main body portion 14 and a slot 16 extending along the under side thereof for receipt of the blade. A passage 18 opens into the slot 16 and extends upwardly therefrom to the upper surface of the tool body 14. This passage is designed to receive a honing piece 20 which, as illustrated, will contact the blade 12 at the junction point of the passage and slot. A recess 2-2 is formed in the tool body 14 and means 24- is fastened therein. This means comprises an abrading substance harder than the honing piece material and is adapted for shaping the abrading end of the honing piece. The provision of the means 24 enables shaping of the piece 2% at any time during preparation of the blade. This positioning of the means 24 insures accessibility of a means for honing the piece 20 and further adds to the general compactness of the unit.

As best illustrated in FIGURE 5, the base 26 of the slot 16 has formed therein a downwardly extending bearing member 28. The bearing member is formed on either side of the passage 18 and channels 30 thus result between the bearing member and the walls of the slot 16. This construction permits free riding of the sharp edges 32 of the blade 12. above the open spaces 30, thus avoiding any possible damage to the base 26 of the slot. Furthermore, provision of the bearing member permits the jig 10 to ride on top of the blade 12 with a minimum amount of friction.

As illustrated in FIGURE 6, the slot 16 and the passage 18 are canted with respect to each other in a manner such that a pair of planes drawn parallel with the walls of the slot and passage will intersect forming an acute angle A. This angle preferably varies between about and 20, with an angle of about 12 being cited as one specific example. As previously noted, this vangular relationship prevents the honing piece, on wearing down, from honing away the edges of the skate blade. This design, therefore, provides a tool having a distinct advantage over prior devices designed for like purposes.

It is preferable that the honing piece 20 be provided with an end having a cross section correspoinding to the shaping surface of abrading means 24. In addition, the end should be curved, as shown, and in order to insure consistency of curvature, a gage 34 is integrated with the tool body 14. This gage is available for insertion of the honing piece 20 and, therefore, the piece can be shaped with the means 24 or by other means until it corresponds to the desired curvature as represented by the gage 34.

In the operating of the honing jig of this invention, the blade to be shaped and sharpened, represented as an ice skate blade 12, should be placed in an upright position and supported in this manner. The blade should be inserted in the slot 16 and the tool body 14 should then be grasped with the thumb and index finger of either hand. Preferably the index finger will lap over the extending end of honing piece 20 in a manner such that the knuckle of the index finger lies approximately above this extended end. Therefore, when a back and forth movement is imparted to the tool, simultaneous downward pressure can be applied to the piece 20, thereby permitting accurate and consistent shaping and sharpening of the blade. It will be apparent that other means of grasping and handling of the tool which will still permit application of pressure on the honing piece can be resorted to.

The materials which are employed in the manufacture of the tool body 14 are not critical and materials such as plastic, wood and metal may be used, provided only that they will withstand breakage, wear and weathering. The honing piece 20 may be composed of any of the various abrasive stones or other conventional honing ma terials, including Whetstone, Carborundum, emery and carbides.

Various modifications in the design of the tool will be apparent, particularly with regard to the relationship of the slot 16 and the passage 18. Obviously the blade slot could be parallel to the sides of the body 14 and passage 18 canted with respect thereto. The end confiuration of the honing piece must also be modified in accordance with changes in the passage and slot positions in order to insure proper configuration of the blade.

It will be obvious that there has been described a honing tool particularly designed for the sharpening and shaping of ice skate blades which provides, in addition to its compactness, various means for insuring simple and efficient preparation of the blades. The specific design of. the blade slot and the honing piece passage cause the honing piece to be drawn diagonally over the blade sur face thus permitting the honing piece to remove stock from the blade center first and then from the outer edges, thereby creating a desired concave surface without damage to the sharpened edges. This is accomplished with a honing piece which is kept at constant pressure during operation and without the possibility of damage to the tool body.

It will be understood that various modifications can be made in the above described shaping and sharpening means without departing from the spirit of this invention, particularly as defined in the following claim.

I claim:

A blade sharpening and shaping tool comprising a main body portion having a slot extending along one side for receiving a blade, a passage defined in said body portion opening into said slot and extending to the surface of said body portion, said slot and passage being formed whereby planes extending parallel with respect to the walls of said slot and said passage respectively are disposed at an acute angle between about 5"- and 20 with respect to each other, and an elongated sharpening and shaping means having a generally rectangular shape and having a length in excess of the length of said passage, said sharpening and shaping means having a convex end for engagement with said blade whereby said blade will be hollow-ground, a bearing member extending downwardly from the base of said slot on either side of said passage and open channels formed between the bearing member and the walls of said slot whereby the sharp edges of said blade will not contact the base of said slot, said sharpening and shaping means being loosely fitted within said passage to thereby extend beyond said surface of said body portion when a blade is received within said slot and whereby pressure can be exerted on the exposed end of said sharpening and shaping means by the hand of the user of said tool.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 880,153 Moorman Feb. 25, 1908 1,269,272 Floback June 11, 1918 2,054,495 Corkum Sept. 15, 1936 2,428,473 Slocum Oct. 7, 1947 2,542,281 Lefiteruk Feb. 20, 1951 2,900,769 Toms Aug, 25, 1959 

